What a beautiful trail! The wildflowers were out, great temperatures, and elk in the meadows. We left the trailhead about 10 in the morning and had a beautiful hike. The only downside was the mosquitoes-they started about a mile or two into the hike and did not stop until we were almost to the Bumping Stream crossing (about 13 miles in). Any time we rested for more than a couple minutes, it was a swarm. That aside, there were multiple types of wildflower-Indian Paintbrush, Lupine, Phlox, and more blooming. A cow elk and her spring calf ran across the trail not more than 50 yards from us, definitely a highlight of the trip. Fellow hikers were friendly and there were limited signs of others-Leave No Trace is definitely being followed. There were several lakes for water, as well as smaller stream crossings for filtering water. There were several trees fallen across the trail but not hard to get around, some larger streams that were also not hard to cross. I imagine this trail would be even more amazing on horseback. There were some patches of snow, especially north of the Bumping River, but nothing hard to cross.
We camped just south of the Bumping River crossing on the hillside, as it was the only place the mosquitoes were bearable. Bumping has a downed tree as a crossing, which was a little unnerving for my hiking partner and I, but not bad with trekking poles. We filtered our water here for the day, though there were several other spots later on that we could have as well, and noticed some great camping spots. Shortly after we crossed, we saw ~35 elk in the meadow-so cool to hear and see them. We ran into more hikers this day than previously, especially as we got closer to Dewey Lakes. Dewey Lakes are beautiful and plenty of campsites here.
Other than the mosquitoes it was a great trail, would love to do it again, though probably over two nights instead of one. I would recommend bringing a lot of bug spray and netting to make it a better or more enjoyable trip. Thanks to those following the Leave No Trace, maintaining the trail, etc.!
Comments